As Facebook (FB) Recovers, IPOs Return

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Five IPOs are pricing this week – the first U.S. companies to go public since Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) much-maligned market debut on May 18.

Now, it seems, the dust has settled on the Facebook IPO, and companies are feeling bold enough to dip their toes in the public trading waters again. In fact, Facebook itself is on quite a run after its post-IPO debacle.

Facebook shares have gained 21% in the last seven trading days to push back above the $33 mark. That’s the highest the social network’s stock has been since May 24.

Facebook went public at $38 a share, only to plummet 32% to below $26 a share in a matter of two weeks. Facebook’s failures seemingly drove other IPOs away, as not a single initial public offering has priced for more than a month – the longest drought since last September.

But it appears the drought will come to an emphatic end this week.

According to Renaissance Capital, five IPOs are slated to price this week. They are:

  • EQT Midstream Partners (EQM): The Pittsburgh, Pa.-based natural gas company plans to raise $250 million by offering 12.5 million shares at a price range of $19 to $21. The company is brand new – founded earlier this year.
  • Exa Corporation (EXA): This Massachusetts-based company provides software solutions for car manufacturers. The company plans to raise a mere $75 million in its modest IPO.
  • Loyalty Alliance Enterprise (LAEC): Another small company with a modest IPO. Loyalty Alliance is a mobile direct marketing company that does most of its business in China. It booked $31 million in sales in the past 12 months, and plans to raise $36 million in its initial public offering by making 5.1 million shares available at a price range of $6 to $8.
  • ServiceNow (NOW): This San Diego-based software company plans to raise $186 million in its IPO by offering 11.7 million shares at a price range between $15 and $17 a share. The $2.4 billion value the company would commend if priced at the midpoint of its range would make it the largest of this week’s five IPOs.
  • Tesaro (TSRO): This company develops drugs that treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and solid tumors. Because its drugs are still in the works, Tesaro didn’t book a single penny worth of sales last year. It’s striving for a $360 million valuation right out of the IPO gates.
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